Monthly Archives: February 2011

A great resource

All I know is just what I read in the newspaper. – Will Rogers

A few months ago, a new platform for sharing information on twitter and facebook came out in the form of paper.li.

Almost over night it seemed like everyone had their own newspaper. I looked at a couple of them but wasn’t terribly impressed.

But then my friend Ron Hudson wrote a blog called 50 Social Media Phenoms. This list includes some of the usual, big name, suspects but it also includes people like…me!

People that Ron has actually developed relationships with and considers friends appear on this list. I was completely humbled to be included with such an amazing group of people, many of whom I’ve also developed friendships with via various social media avenues.

But then, Mr. Hudson took his list one step further and created a paper.li called The SocialMediaPhenoms Daily.

This, I read.

Not only did Ron collect a nice list of knowledgeable folks, he combined them into a really great resource. There hasn’t been an issue yet that I have not clicked in to at least two of the articles it contains which is about my average for a print newspaper like The Tulsa World.

The information I find in Ron’s paper, however, is more up to the minute and useful than any I would find in a print newspaper.

I encourage you to give The SocialMediaPhenoms Daily a look. There’s a lot of terrific information to be had and you don’t even have to look hard to find it!

Valentines Day special

My future daughter-in-love, Scarlette, asked me the other day what David and I do for Valentines Day. I told her that we really don’t do a whole lot.

David and I really love spending time with each other and, because he’s gone so much, we cherish the time we have together always not just on Valentines Day.

But there is something that we do that I shared with her.  We go to the card store. We peruse the cards, pick out just the right one and hand it to the other to read and enjoy. Then, we put them back in the rack and leave.

If we didn’t do this, I might have never gotten even one card from David but this way, I have gotten the VERY best valentines and, even better, they were free!

I shared this with my mom a couple of years ago and was surprised to learn that my grandma had done this with a close friend of hers. That made our little tradition seem even that much more special. And to think I just came by it genetically or something!

I’m sure that the card store doesn’t appreciate our little tradition but I love it and it makes my heart the happiest!

Today, I am sad

I learned last night that my friend Whitney had passed away. Her husband had told me that she was in the ICU at Baptist Hospital a few weeks ago and we’ve been praying since.

Whitney was another wonderful twitter friend that had turned into an IRL friendship. She was so sweet and I’m happy I had a chance to know her, even for a short time.

I am a strong believer. I do believe that I will see Whitney again in Eternity.

I just finished the book Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo. His son, Colton, spent some time in Jesus’ lap and returned to tell his family and  friends about his experiences. If we are to believe Colton’s report, and I do, Jesus was the first person that Whitney saw and that comforts me.

This incredible sadness I feel comes when I think about her husband, Stephen, and their little boys and the loss they will bear.  They remain in my prayers for the peace and comfort that only Jesus can bring.

It’s sad to think of a life cut short at the mere age of 34. But the Bible says that we are not promised tomorrow.

Be sure to tell those you love that you love them. Cherish them. Now and every day.

Annoying, you might say

The topic for this week over at The RHOK is pet peeves. I was fairly certain, when I first thought about it, that mine would all involve driving or cars and I was right although I do have a bonus item at the end if you hang on that long.

I’m basically a happy person and not much gets me down but the things that make me peevish are: speeders, people who don’t stop at stop signs, people who don’t understand that pedestrians have the right of way, people who get left to turn right (and vice versa), and people who speed down my little side street to get in the school pick up line.

Pet peeve #1 – Speeders.

I don’t speed. It’s clearly posted all over the internet. The one time I thought I’d try going 5 mph over the speed limit, I was busted.

Say it isn’t so!

Sorry, I can’t. ::hangs head in shame::

The worst part about not speeding is the people behind me who bully me. Hey, I’m obeying the law and it’s okay if you don’t want to but please leave me out of it!

Pet Peeve #2 – People who don’t stop at the stop sign

Rampant. This happens everywhere, not just in parking lots. It’s clear that the stop sign is seen as either just a suggestion or a red octagonal decoration at the corner.

Some day, when I have some extra time, I’m going to just sit on my porch and video tape the people running my stop sign in a day. I’ll be sure to let you know when that video is posted. 🙂

Pet Peeve #3 – People who don’t understand that pedestrians have the right of way

Whew! As daily walkers, I can’t tell you how many times we’ve almost been killed while walking around Bartlesville. It’s definitely dangerous and not for the non-alert or faint of heart. Although it’s posted on the downtown sign posts, drivers still think they rule. Oh, I could go on and on and, thankfully, I’m still alive to do that.

Pet Peeve #4 – People who stay left to turn right (and vice versa)

I almost have nothing to say to this because I don’t understand why you have to be left to turn right? I drive a big car and I can turn it right from very close to the right curb.

I’m confounded.

And often delayed by these folks.

Pet Peeve #5 – People speeding down my little side street to get in the school pick up line

This is another thing I’m going to video some day. These are mothers of children who are doing this for the most part. I have to believe that if I sped down the road by their house that they would have a heart attack because I might hurt their child. But all bets are off when they are on my street. This is such a heinous behavior to me, it deserves its own speeder category in my list of pet peeves.

So these are the things that bring out my inner Gladys Kravitz. Because you’ve read this far, I’m going to give you one bonus pet peeve that has nothing to do with cars but does have to do with speeding.

😉

*Actual photos taken from twitter that were posted when they happened!

TMI (LOL!)

Okay, I’m trying really hard to keep up with these Real Housewives of Oklahoma (RHOK). I know it’s not Monday and I’m not completely sure what a McLinky is but I can answer these questions better than I can do the slutty hokie pokie so here we go.

The RHOK

This is Everything You Need To Know or,  simply, TMI. (LOL! :-))

TEN FACTS

  • Name – Lauri
  • Nicknames – Lauri, Pebbles (don’t ask)
  • Any birth marks – Yes on the top of my right wrist. My mom thought it was dirt when I was small and tried to scrub it off with steel wool. And you wonder why I am this way. 😉
  • Hair color – Blonder than I’d like
  • Natural hair color – About this color
  • Eye color – Blue most of the times, green others
  • Height – 5’11”
  • Mood – Happy
  • Favorite color – Green
  • One Place You Want to Visit – Istanbul

TEN THIS OR THAT

  • Love or lust – love
  • Cats or dogs – dogs
  • A few best friends or many regular friends – Best friends
  • Television or internet – Internet
  • Chinese or Indian food – Indian
  • Wild night out or romantic night in – Comfy night in
  • Money or Happiness – Happiness
  • Night or day –  Day
  • MSN or phone – MSN

TEN HAVE YOU’S

  • Ever performed in front of a large crowd – Not often enough
  • Ever done drugs – I do Advil Cold & Sinus when the wind changes
  • Ever consumed alcohol -Yes
  • Ever Been on a dance team – No
  • Ever been on a sports team – Yes, cheer, rugby, track, swim
  • Ever been in a drama play/production – Yes
  • Ever owned a BMW, Mercedes Benz, Escalade, Hummer or Bentley? – nope
  • Ever been in a rap video? – No, but I’m actually in a Metallica video 🙂

(See the whole video here. This is at 3:23 approximately.)

TEN LASTS

  • Last phone call you made – One of my local titleholders
  • Last person you hung out with – The Dudelette and Scarlette
  • Last person you tackled – Hmmmm
  • Last person you IM’d – Geoff
  • Last person(s) you went to the movies with – I don’t usually go to the movies. It’s been too long to remember.
  • Last thing you missed – Leo
  • Last thing you ate – Cottage cheese with walnuts. Nom! 😉

WOULD YOU RATHER

  • Pierce your nose or tongue? – Neither. Did the naval and am over it.
  • Be serious or be funny? – Funny
  • Drink whole or skim milk? – Gah, blech, eeeuuww
  • Spend time with your parents or enemies? – parents but enemies are closer. LOL!

ARE YOU

  • Simple or complicated? – Confused

DO YOU PREFER

  • Flowers or candy? – Candy
  • Gray or black? – Black
  • Color or Black and white photos? – Color
  • Sunrise or sunset? – Sunrise
  • Staying up late or waking up early? – waking up early

DO YOU PREFER

  • Sun or moon? – Sun
  • Left or right? –  Left
  • Sun or rain? – Sun
  • Vanilla or chocolate ice cream? – Vanilla
  • Vodka or Jack Daniels? – Beefeater
  • Nervous Habits? – I’m not a nervous person, not sure I have one!
  • Are you double jointed? – No
  • Can you twist your tongue around and roll it? – yep
  • Can you raise one eyebrow? – yes, the right one.
  • Can you cross your eyes? – Yes
  • Do you make your bed daily? – No

QUESTIONS

  • Which shoe goes on first? – Left
  • Ever thrown something at someone? – Yes, we regularly throw dinner rolls around the table. 😉
  • On average, how much money do you carry with you? – debit card only
  • What jewelry do you wear? – wedding ring always, everything else up for grabs
  • Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? – twirl
  • Have you ever eaten Spam? – yes when I was a child and had no choice
  • Favorite ice cream? –  coffee
  • How many kinds of cereal are in your cabinet? 0
  • What’s your favorite beverage? coffee
  • Do you cook? love to cook

LASTS

  • Last Alcoholic Drink: Beefeater martini
  • Last Car ride: To Tulsa
  • Last Movie watched: The Bucket List

Now let me see if I can figure this McLinky thingy out…

Tweet tweet tweet tweet auto tweet

I saw this tweet come through my stream last night:

I love this time of year-cool air, family & football!

Hmmm. In the 7 1/2 years I’ve lived in Oklahoma this is, without a doubt, the coldest winter ever.  The air isn’t just cool, it is by most accounts FRIGID.

And football? Well, the season is almost over. The Super Bowl is on Sunday.

An odd sentement to read yesterday to be sure. I wonder when it was set up to automatically tweet? I wonder if we’ll see it again in, oh say, June?

Twitter is for engaging. Actually being present, talking to the followers you have and those you are following. That is how real relationships are formed and sustained.

This is a particular soap box I like to climb on when I get the opportunity because the auto generated tweet confuses me. There is no engagement going on. When world events cause everyone who is actually present to be talking about that particular event and then you see a tweet like the one above come through, you just know that person isn’t really there.

So what do they gain? I just don’t know.